Overview
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ABSTRACT
Assessing a digital document is often linked to a precise practical objective. When the financial stake is considerable or safety issues arise, testing a digital document should not be optional. The multiplication of services at a distance and the complexity of certain platforms used for family or professional activities raise issues and notably that of the stabilization of the writing practices of digital documents and of the assessment of such instruments. This article deals with this last point. What can be assessed in this field? There are multiple assessment dimensions depending on the chosen angle. The approach centered on the assessment of the person-system interface of the digital document is dealt with. Case studies are presented in order to illustrate the matter: distance learning internet site, virtual library internet site and computing system management internet site.
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Stéphane CARO DAMBREVILLE: Doctorate in Information and Communication Sciences - Associate Professor, University of Burgundy, IUT de Dijon, Communication Services and Networks Department - Researcher at the CIMEOS EA 4177 laboratory, LIMSIC team, Laboratory on image, mediation and sensibility in information-communication
INTRODUCTION
When undertaking an assessment, it is essential to define what it is you wish to assess. To do this, we need to consider that the use of a digital document takes place in the context of an activity carried out via a technical device. The user is thus exposed to a double constraint: he or she must find information, integrate new knowledge in a given field, solve a problem, and to do so, use a technical device (a digital document developed for this purpose) at the same time. This double constraint and goal structure will make this type of task particularly complex, should the technical device fail (i.e. be difficult to use). In this particular case, the allocation of additional cognitive resources to the use of the technical device rather than to the main task will result in poor performance. In this article, we will focus on the evaluation of digital documents using classical methods of person-system interface ergonomics. The methods chosen are: evaluation by inspection (or audit), user testing, interviews and questionnaires. For each of these methods, we will give examples of deliverables. It is perhaps worth pointing out that a high-performance interface is generally one that requires very few cognitive resources to use. A transparent, unobtrusive interface will enable users to concentrate their cognitive resources on their activity, rather than on learning or mastering the technical device. The aim is therefore clearly to minimize the cognitive load specifically dedicated to operating the system.
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Evaluating digital documents: principles and methods
Bibliography
Software tools
Paying
Morae, software for recording and processing user test data. It records everything that happens on screen, as well as the participant (via a simple webcam) and the audio stream, and mixes it all together to produce a comprehensive final video. 15-day trial version on request on the English site http://fr.techsmith.com/morae.asp
...Websites
Ergonomics and digital documents http://lescamot-scd.blogspot.com/
Web and software ergonomics http://www.ergolab.net/
Web and software ergonomics http://www.lergonome.org/
...Standards and norms
- Définition des critères ergonomiques de conception et d'évaluation des interfaces utilisateurs (produits logiciels) - AFNOR Z67-133-1 - 1991
- Ergonomics of human-system interaction – Part 110: Dialogue, principles (formerly ISO 9241-10 of 1996) - ISO 9241-110 - 2006
- Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs) – Part 12: Presentation of information (will become 9241-111 after...
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